My Stepbrother, My Enemy {BL}-Chapter 147: The Asshole And The Golden Boy

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘❦✾❦∘∙⊱⋅•

3rd Person Pov

Adrien then let out a sharp, humorless laugh, disbelief creeping into his voice. "You really want to put all this on me?" he snapped, his knuckles white against the steering wheel. "Fine. But let’s take a moment to talk about you."

Ethan stiffened, his breath hitching as he turned to Adrien, eyes narrowed.

"If you love Noah so damn much," Adrien said, his voice rising, "like you keep telling everyone... then why weren’t you with him tonight?"

For a split second, Ethan’s expression faltered, just enough for Adrien to lean in harder, his anger boiling over.

"Where the hell were you when all this went down?!" Adrien slammed his hand against the steering wheel, causing the horn to blare unexpectedly. "He was all alone at a party filled with people who hate her, my friends, your teammates, people who wanted to see him humiliated to feel a bit better about themselves. And you weren’t there. Not even for a few minutes to check on him."

Ethan shot back, his voice sharp and trembling. "It’s none of your damn business where I was."

"Of course it is!" Adrien fired back. "He’s missing, Ethan. He’s gone. He’s probably scared. He could be-" He stopped himself, his breath hitching at the worst thought. "And you weren’t there."

Ethan’s jaw was clenched tight, trembling slightly. "Don’t throw this back at me when all of this leads back to you. Don’t act like you’re some kind of hero now, Adrien."

Adrien let out a harsh sound, almost a growl. "You know what? If you weren’t too busy being the ’perfect boyfriend’ in name only, maybe he wouldn’t have been out wandering alone at some stupid party."

Ethan’s head snapped toward him, his eyes blazing. "Don’t you dare say I don’t care about him."

"Oh, I’ll dare," Adrien shot back. "Because caring isn’t just talking about it. Caring means showing up. Caring means being there. Caring means not fucking leaving him alone with a bunch of wrecks at midnight."

Ethan’s hands were curled into fists. "You want to talk about showing up? You want to lecture me? You-Adrien Fell you’re the last person who gets to talk about being there for him."

Adrien’s voice lowered, becoming a dangerous whisper. "Try me." 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"You’re the reason we even fought that night during the playoffs!" Ethan shouted, the words spilling out before he could think. "to the point you shoved Noah and he got hurt, and you want to stand there pointing fingers? You’ve always been terrible. You’ve always made things worse. This is who you are, Adrien. Everyone knows it. The whole damn school."

"Stop acting like you’re so perfect, because I don’t buy it." Adrien exhaled slowly, rage simmering in his veins. "Don’t pretend you’re some innocent Golden Boy in all of this!"

"I never claimed to be perfect!" Ethan snapped, his voice cracking from the volume. "People tend to assume that crap on their own!"

Adrien’s glare pierced through the car’s shadows, sharp and unwavering.

"Yeah?" he muttered, more to himself. "Well tonight, we’re both finding out just how imperfect we really are."

The car sped down the empty road, both guys breathing heavily, their wounded pride, fear, and guilt sparking between them like wires ready to snap, while somewhere ahead, Noah was alone in the dark.

Adrien couldn’t pinpoint when the air in the car shifted, maybe it was the weight of the words they’d exchanged, or the heavy truth hanging between them like a stone. But Ethan was the first to break, letting out a long, raw sigh that took some of the wind out of their fight.

"...This isn’t helping," Ethan muttered, frustration tight in his voice. "None of this back and forth is helping Noah. Just-just drive faster, okay? We can argue later. Right now we need to figure this out."

Adrien tightened his grip on the wheel, but nodded, pressing harder on the gas.

Ethan leaned back, his breath unsteady, his expression torn between anger and a fear he didn’t know how to quiet. For a moment, he was silent, and then, almost under his breath, he said, "I still can’t believe he’s your stepbrother. You, of all people. And those jerks... I swear to God, when we find them, I’m making sure they all go to jail for this."

The car fell into a tense silence, broken only by the sound of Adrien’s fingers tapping anxiously on the steering wheel. Streetlights rushed past like pale ghosts, casting fleeting shadows across their faces.

It took a while, but finally Adrien exhaled, the anger from earlier morphing into something rougher, quieter. When he spoke, his voice had lowered, sounding almost vulnerable as if every word required more honesty than he usually offered.

"You know, I’m not proud of what I did to him," he said softly. "Before all this... before we were family. I know exactly what my friends and I did. I know how it affected him. And I’m not going to pretend I’m some good guy now just because I’ve finally come to my senses."

Ethan turned slightly, catching Adrien’s profile in the dim light. The look on his face wasn’t angry; it was more like disbelief, but not mocking. Almost... surprised.

Adrien swallowed, continuing with a rawness that made it clear he hadn’t said this to anyone before. "I just... I want to make things right. Or as right as I can after everything. And Noah–God, Noah..." His voice wavered slightly. "He has this incredible heart. He looked at me and actually saw someone worth helping. Worth forgiving and he’s been guiding me through my mess, helping me confront things I didn’t even want to face."

His throat tightened.

"I’d die before I ever hurt him like that again."

Ethan’s expression changed, the anger he’d been clinging to dissipating into something more complex. He studied Adrien for a long moment, searching for a flicker of insincerity-but there was nothing fake in the way Adrien focused on the road, jaw clenched, eyes filled with an unhidden fear.

"...I didn’t expect you to say that," Ethan admitted softly, his voice almost drowned out by the engine’s hum.

Adrien didn’t need to respond. The truth was laid bare between them, raw and unrefined-hanging heavily as they got closer to whatever awaited them.